NHL Stanley Cup Final 2019: Blues vs. Bruins Game 5 Odds, Props, Predictions
June 6, 2019
The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues have alternated victories through the first four games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Both teams proved they can defend their home ice, and they also showed off their abilities to win in a hostile environment.
With the series tied 2-2, Thursday's Game 5 will be a pivotal moment in the series.
Either Boston will regain the home-ice advantage and take the series lead or the Blues will benefit from the momentum of a Game 4 win and set themselves up to clinch the championship at Enterprise Center in Game 6.
Game 5 Odds and Props
Boston: -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
St. Louis: +135 (bet $100 to win $135)
Total Goals
Over 3.5: -380
Under 6.5: -225
Over 4.5: -150
Under 5.5: -142
Over 5.5: +125
Under 4.5: +190
Over 6.5: +270
Under 3.5: +300
Over 7.5: +459
Point Spread
St. Louis +2.5: -400
St. Louis +1.5: -210
Boston -1.5: +187
Boston -2.5: +340
Predictions
Boston Moneyline, -1.5 and Over 5.5
The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden featured 11 goals, with six coming in Game 1 and five in Game 2.
Based off those numbers, the over of 5.5 goals appears to be the best option to bet on given its value and the reality of it happening Thursday.
Outside of Boston's seven-goal outburst in Game 3, the Stanley Cup Final featured either five or six goals in a game, which leads you right to either the over 4.5 or 5.5 wager.
As for the spread, Boston won its two games in the series by two goals, and it has won four postseason games by three or more goals at TD Garden.
In Game 3, the Bruins showed they can reach another level in attack that the Blues might not be able to match.
Boston also has not relied on a single skater or line to get all of the scoring done, as Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly are the only multiple-goal scorers in the series, while 12 players have scored at least once.
St. Louis' top scorers have produced at a higher volume in front of goal, with Vladimir Tarasenko leading the way with three tallies.
That leads us to believe if the Bruins shut down the top Blues attackers, Game 5 will lean in favor of the home side.
Boston has a blueprint for silencing St. Louis' key players in front of goal from Game 3, when it held Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly and Jaden Schwartz to zero points on nine shots on goal.
That task will be harder to achieve if Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who took a puck to the face in Game 4, is not at 100 percent and Matt Grzelcyk is not cleared from concussion protocol.
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy did not have an update on Chara on Wednesday, and he stated Grzelcyk was still in concussion protocol, per the team's official Twitter account.
Even without two of their top defensemen, the Bruins could take the advantage in the series back to St. Louis for Game 6.
The leaders on the team could use Chara's injury as motivation to win a game inside their packed arena for the experienced defenseman.
Patrice Bergeron noted the Bruins will try to step up with or without their captain in Game 5, per NHL.com's Matt Kalman.
"So yeah, I think we're sending him positive vibes and we're supporting him," Bergeron said. "And of course when you lose your captain in the last game, you try to step up and be good for him. And it's the same thing right now. We're all behind each other and all supportive of each other, and that's why we're here."
If the Bruins create an emotional edge for themselves to win one for Chara and benefit off what is expected to be a raucous home crowd, they could overwhelm the Blues in all facets of the game, similar to Game 3.
St. Louis is going to put up a fight and will try to benefit from the momentum gained from Game 4, but even if it exploits the weaknesses in Boston's defense, it might not be able to keep up in the scoring department if its top skaters have trouble in the attacking zone.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Hockey Reference.